Professor’s Death Sentence Is Lifted

Iran’s Supreme Court has lifted the death sentence against a university professor whose penalty provoked nationwide demonstrations, one of the judges who heard his appeal said. Hashem Aghajari, a history professor at Tehran’s Teachers Training University, had been condemned for insulting Islam and questioning clerical rule during a speech in June.

The judge said the 3-1 vote refers the case to an appeals court for it to review the remainder of the sentence, which includes 74 lashes and eight years of banishment to remote cities.